My First Mermaid Doll

I finished my first mermaid doll yesterday for the DollStreet Mermaid Challenge.  I like how she looks and will probably make another mermaid doll. I named her Dianna for no reason, she just seems like a Dianna. I didn't know there was a mermaid named Dianna in a movie until after I named her. This was the 2003 movie called "Mermaids".

Mike got a used aquarium at a thrift store for Diana to live in. It looks like it needs a few more mermaids in it.

I used a pattern by  Caroline Erbsland called Crystal.

Her wig is made from Tibetan lamb. It looked too straight so I curled it using cut-up pieces of a drinking straw and mousse.

Doll Camp/Evergreen State Fair Dolls

This past week my two youngest  granddaughters and I have been making cloth dolls for the fair. It was a fun project and both girls learned new things. They used the same pattern but did their dolls in their own way. Josie hadn't sewn before and Chiana had only sewed on a toy machine.

We used the free doll pattern called the Napkin or Sisters Doll designed by Judi Ward. It is an easy but cute pattern and because there are only two pieces it is perfect for a first doll. Here is a link to the pattern: http://judisdolls.com/napkindoll/napkindoll.html
note: The designer, Judi Ward first called the pattern "Napkin doll" because it was based on a design she saw on a paper napkin  in Germany. She later changed the name to "Sisters doll" so it is now known by both names.

Josie's two sisters are showing cows at the fair and she wanted to do something for the fair and Chiana has always wanted to make a doll. So last week we had doll camp. Josie lives next door, Chiana came and stayed for several days and we sewed and designed. And we made some really cute dolls.

We got finished just in time to check them in at the fairgrounds to get judged. We'll see how they did when the fair opens in ten days...

Katniss in the Games doll:


Josie is 11 years old but will be 12 next week. She loves archery and the movie "Hunger Games" so she chose to make her version of a Katniss doll.  She sewed the doll and her clothes she also made the bow, arrows and quiver. And her doll's hair is a wig we made from Josie's own hair



Kaitlyn at the Prom doll

Chiana just turned 10 years old a few weeks ago. She decided to design her doll after her older sister, Kaitlyn going to the prom. Chiana sewed the doll and her dress. She also crocheted the skirt ruffles and we glued them onto the dress.

Our fair dolls

I didn't get the fairy doll finished that I was making for the fair  because we were having so much fun at doll camp but I entered my Oz doll since he hadn't been in a contest -- just a display. And I entered a doll in the Fair theme contest. The theme is "...For the Kid in All of Us!"

Constance Elfsong - my 2013 Hoffman Challenge Doll

This is Constance Elfsong:

She is my entry in this year's Hoffman Challenge. I made her dress with the challenge fabric. 

Sulky thread is also a sponsor of the challenge so I made her hair from Sulky thread.

I named her for a friend and former visiting teacher of mine who always encourages me in my creations.

My friend, Connie, is an accomplished flutist so I've given Constance a pan-flute to emulate Connie.

Here is a picture of three of my granddaughters with Constance so you can see her size.

Baby Lulu - 2013 Baby Doll Challenge

Here is the doll I made for the annual cloth baby doll challenge. Her name is Baby Lulu.

Baby Lulu is a sweet baby but already a bit mischievous. Her hair is totally out of control but she has sweet dimples. She loves her new blue gingham dress that matches her eyes.

Lulu is soft sculpted of craft velour with tibetan lamb's wool hair. I made her dress, hair bow and diaper but bought her white tights.

She is adapted from Judi Ward's "Dionne" doll pattern.

Baby Lulu didn't place in the contest but she is one of my favorite baby dolls that I've made.

Here is a link to the contest:
2013 Cloth Baby Doll Challenge

Billy the Snowman - from felted sweater

Last fall there was a discussion on an online cloth doll group (focd) about making dolls out of felted wool sweaters. I decided to try this. So I went to Goodwill and found a child's sweater with a label that said lambswool and a large homemade bulky knit sweater that had no label but I was sure it was wool. I bought both sweaters, washed them in hot water and dried them in the dryer. Both sweaters felted nicely and the large sweater shrunk so much that it was the same size as the child's sweater.

Well life and the holidays got in the way so I put the sweaters away and just this week got out the sweaters. I cut out a snowman from the bulky knit sweater and because it was so thick I broke a needle on my serger and bent one on my sewing machine so I hand-sewed him. I kept the left-over pieces of felted wool to make little pincushions. I've cut a horse out of the gray sweater and am hand sewing it also because I liked hand sewing the snowman.

I really like the snowman and he will be a good Christmas decoration this year since he didn't make it last year. I made him from "Slushy the Snowman" pattern from FunkyFriendsFactory.com - my husband thinks he looks like a penguin because of the carrot nose...

The Soldier with the Green Whiskers

My  doll for the Oz Book Challenge at Doll Street Dreamers is finally on his way to Ohio. He will be a part of an Oz display at the AFICC (artistic figures in cloth and clay) convention in Cincinnati at the end of the month.

I chose to make "The Soldier with the Green Whiskers" from the Oz series of books written by L. Frank Baum. The first book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was published in 1900 and was such a success that Mr. Baum wrote 14 books in the series. The 1939 movie with Judy Garland is based on  incidents in the first Oz book. There was actually a successful Oz musical in 1902 that played Broadway in 1903/1904. In addition the successful productions  The Wiz and Wicked are set in Oz. There have been several other Oz movies including one by the Muppets. A new movie is out now which I haven't seen but reportedly takes place before Dorothy comes to Oz. The book series is fun to read, family-friendly, and all of the books are available in free/inexpensive ebook formats.

The Soldier with Green Whiskers is mentioned in several of the books. He is called by name, Omby Amby, in the book, Ozma of Oz but in later books he is again called the Soldier with Green Whiskers.. He doesn't load his gun for fear of accidents and once asked intruders to wait for him to find his powder and shot.

I loosely based my doll on the illustration to the left by W.W. Denslow from the first Oz book. I adapted the doll pattern "A Dude for All Seasons" by Bonnie B. Lewis and Mary Ann Kaahanui.

I started the doll while we were visiting my parents and Mike's mother in St. George, Utah. I sewed and stuffed the doll and designed and sewed his uniform while there. When we got home I lined and embellished the jacket and when I put it on him it no longer fit so he got "doll lipo" with a back incision and stuffing removal. He was then sutured back together with a much slimmer profile. It is so much easier and probably less painful for cloth people vs human people.

We (my husband and I) found a long blond wig that I sprayed with green hairspray but the green got on everything so that hair was banished and he has a shorter beard now made from a St. Patrick's Day wig we found. In the books his beard reached the ground but I like this one. I also painted his glasses green but they hid his face so now he has green-glittered glasses. In the book everyone has green-tinted glasses locked on them when they enter the Emerald City of Oz so that everything looks green.

I had fun making the musket also. I ordered a civil war replica musket from ebay but it was too small since the doll is 20 inches tall. So we bought a tiny-diameter brass tube, some balsa wood and chain.

I cut it out, painted and stained it, glued on the barrel then cut up the chain to make a trigger and such. It turned out cute but I don't have a close up picture.

I had the most trouble with his gloves. I had to make them big enough to go over his fingers but when they were on they looked like Mickey Mouse hands. I took tucks and glued but they are still not what I'd hoped to make.

I enjoyed making this doll. As always I am happy that he is finished and in the mail/UPS. And I am happy to be a part of this online doll club and hope my offering is okay since there are many professional dollmakers in this organization. -cba

2012 Gypsy Challenge Doll

This year's Gypsy Challenge Doll is finally on the way to Houston. This year I made a dragon for the first time and my gypsy, Lady Cascadia is riding the dragon. The dragon, Myrrlyn is charmed with a special necklace that Lady Cascadia was able to get on him somehow.
This was a hard project with several setbacks. We've been out of town so I only had a few weeks to finish. The first doll I made was too large to ride the dragon. So I made a smaller doll which was harder to style. At first I made the dragon with a green lamé stomach/contrast but even with a medium iron-on interfacing the lamé came apart at some of the seams when I stuffed it. So I took the dragon apart and remade it with a knit contrast fabric. If I use lamé again I will use one-inch seams instead of 1/4 inch.

The doll and her dragon turned out well. I really enjoyed making the dragon. I think I will make a few more since I bought fabric for dragons last year and never did that project.  (And, yes, that is a run in the fabric under his ear.)

Here are my granddaughters, Emily and Josie, holding the dolls so you can see the size of the dolls...